After working on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and declining the same position for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, American Visual Effects Supervisor Jim Mitchell was enticed back to the HP fold because of Director Mike Newell’s lack of experience with big-budget, special effects-laden films. “‘Usually, it’s in the director’s head …read more!

Here’s a bit of some rocking cool news tonight. “Do the Hippogriff”, from the soundtrack of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is on the short list of songs eligible for an Oscar Award. This song, which was performed by Jarvis Cocker and Company as the band at the Yule Ball , is one …read more!

Harry Potter is sixth on Lycos’ Top 50 2005 search terms, while the movie is 27th. Meanwhile, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the most often-searched movie of 2005 on AOL, with Emma Watson and Dan Radcliffe coming in at 6th and 7th in the under-21 division. Goblet was also the top-searched movie …read more!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is among few bright spots in the US’s moviegoing year, reports the Associated Press. Potter, King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia offset unusually low US revenues, which may fall below $9 billion for the first time since 2001.

Here’s your weekly update with the newest of the more than 1,250 items at The Cauldron Shop, the one-stop place for Harry Potter merchandise on the net: –Don’t forget: you can sign up for a wishlist, the same way you do at Amazon.com or your other favorite online stores: Put your favorite Potter items on …read more!

Earlier this year, we told you that one library from every state in the US would be receiving a JKR-signed copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The winning New Mexico library, in Belen, is raffling off its copy. One report says three thousand tickets have already been sold. According to this article, the …read more!

Today’s New York Times has a great story about Ralph Fiennes, prompted by his “onstage conversation” at yesterday’s screening of The Constant Gardner. The article gives a nice overview of Mr. Fiennes’ career including, of course, this bit about his portrayal of Lord Voldemort: “He turns Voldemort into a real character. He may have a …read more!

The “Text Only” option at JKRowling.com is now available in languages such as French, German, Spanish, and Italian. Thanks Roonwit and Pablo!

PotterCast #17 is up and available for download! In this show: On this show: -Introducing…Julie Tynion! -The mailbag crew figures out the whole ending to Harry Potter. (Sorry, Jo!) -The fan interview goes back to the day of the live podcast, with our first attendees! -Wand and wand theory in the modcast -A truly demanding …read more!

Kenneth Branagh has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the HBO film Warm Springs. The nomination is in the category “Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television.” Congratulations, Kenneth!